By Anuroop Dhanjal:
When it comes to an art form like dance it is very difficult to describe it in words. Since I deem dance as my passion I would like to talk about the same. Dance is one of the most beautiful ways of expressing oneself. From ballet to Kathakali, there has always been some kind of expression or story that these dances depict. There is a myth that dance is an inborn talent which cannot be taught, yes I do agree to this phrase but my extension to this thought is that it cannot be taught because everyone owns it in their own way which is unique in itself.
Dance is something that is within you and all you need to do is to show it to the world. No matter how bizarre it may seem to you but if it would be performed with full zest it would surely turn striking. The best example one can give is of PSY, who is enjoying the glory for his Oppa Gangnam Style, which clearly tell us that it is not the steps that matter it is the enthusiasm with which you perform and show it to the world.
Be it music, dance or any form of art, they are all inter-related. They are like four wheels of a cart, which means if any one of them is absent when its presence is required, it would be difficult to reach the destination. In other terms like for music you need rhythm, for rhythm you need coordination and coordination in turn can be build through body isolations, which is synonymous to dancing. Similarly all other forms are related to each other and indispensable to one another.
Apart from holding it as your hobby, dancing can also be beneficial in various other walks of life. Holding a strong power of expression, dance is considered as a good stress buster by some people. Dancing teaches us lot of things that we can apply in our daily custom. It teaches us coordination, management, discipline etc… It makes one aware of oneself, keeping us healthy and fit at the same time. Talking about basic human nature, when you are happy you dance, when you are excited you dance, when you are sad you may dance considering it as a stress buster, hence there is a little bit of dance in every minute of your life and this is how various forms of dance have evolved like hip hop depicts freedom, contemporary depicts sadness, bhangra is to happiness, Bharatanatyam is to preach and many more can be listed.
Being capable of doing such great deeds, people still believe to question its importance. When it comes to taking dance seriously, people tend to underestimate its significance. People believe that dancing cannot be taken as a career option. When questioned as to why not, there have not been any answers till now that justifies this proclamation completely.
Carrying our rich cultural heritage, it needs to build up its position in the minds of the people before the time approaches where only pictures of various dance forms would be the only source for the coming generations to witness our rich cultural heritage. Encouragement for cultural and folk dances is the need of the hour.